Book review: The economic impacts of natural disasters

"The Economic Impacts of Natural Disasters." Edited by Debarati Guha-Sapir and Indhira Santos. Oxford Univesity Press. May 2013. --- Since the turn of the millennium, more than one million people have been killed and 2.3 billion others have been directly affected by natural disasters around the world. Economic Impacts presents six national case studies (Bangladesh, Vietnam, India, Nicaragua, Japan and the Netherlands) and seeks to show how household surveys and country-level macroeconomic data can analyse and quantify the economic impact of disasters. Tom McDermott finds that this book provides a useful set of starting points both for policy debates and further research on the economics of natural disasters

DE Metrics: Categorize the Benefits and Value of Digital Engineering

The Department of Defense (DoD) envisions that digital engineering information exchange, system modeling, and data driven system engineering processes will become core to product and process development. As this transformation occurs, it will change the way Systems Engineering (SE) is measured and valued. Over the past 3 years, the Systems Engineering Research Center (SERC) has studied the Digital Engineering (DE) transformation processes and progress. This work has focused on DoD acquisition and program office activities but is applicable to all enterprises undergoing DE and Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) transformations. A previous SERC research task created an Enterprise System-of-Systems Model for DE-enabled acquisition, conceptually modeling the potential future DoD acquisition enterprise. This research helped to understand the structure of future DoD/contractor program enterprises when the five goals of the DoD DE strategy were achieved, and the expected outcomes of that transition. That research cited the need for the community to standardize and implement measures that reflect success at the enterprise level. A second research task was completed to define metrics that represent value, benefits, and change progress in enterprise DE transformation. A third task is currently underway to design and implement measures that quantify DE benefits.Prepared for the Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, CA 93943.Naval Postgraduate SchoolApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

How normative interpretations of climate risk assessment affect local decision making: an exploratory study at the city scale in Cork, Ireland

Urban areas already suffer substantial losses in both economic and human terms from climate related disasters. These losses are anticipated to grow substantially, in part as a result of the impacts of climate change. In this paper we investigate the process of translating climate risk data into action for the city level. We apply a commonly used decision-framework as our backdrop and explore where in this process climate risk assessment and normative political judgments intersect. We use the case of flood risk management in Cork city in Ireland to investigate what is needed for translating risk assessment into action at the local city level. Evidence presented is based on focus group discussions at two stakeholder workshops, and a series of individual meetings and phone-discussions with stakeholders involved in local decision making related to flood risk management and adaptation to climate change, in Ireland. Respondents were chosen on the basis of their expertise and/or involvement in the decision making processes locally and nationally. Representatives of groups affected by flood risk and flood risk management/adaptation efforts were also included. The Cork example highlights that, despite ever more accurate data and an increasing range of theoretical approaches available to local decision makers, it is the normative interpretation of this information that determines what action is taken. The use of risk assessments for decision making is a process that requires normative decisions, such as setting ‘acceptable risk levels’ and identifying ‘adequate’ protection levels, which will not succeed without broader buy-in and stakeholder participation. Identifying and embracing those up-front could strengthen the urban adaptation process - this may in fact turn out to be the biggest advantage of climate risk assessment: it offers an opportunity to create a shared understanding of the problem and enables an informed evaluation and discussion of remedial action

Geografia, institucions i desenvolupament: una revisió dels efectes a llarg termini del canvi climàtic

La relació entre el canvi climàtic, el desenvolupament econòmic i la reducció de la pobresa han guanyat creixent interès en els últims anys. No obstant això la majoria de la literatura existent ha tendit a concentrar-se en efectes directes del canvi climàtic en l'economia a curt termini, tot i que efectes potencials a llarg termini poden ser fins i tot més importants. Una anàlisi profunda dels múltiples efectes del canvi climàtic posa en relleu la necessitat de tenir en compte la interacció entre el canvi climàtic i diverses tendències implícites del desenvolupament econòmic per al bon disseny d'estratègies d'adaptació i de plans de desenvolupament.La relación entre el cambio climático, el desarrollo económico y la reducción de la pobreza han ganado creciente interés en los últimos años. Sin embargo la mayoría de la literatura existente ha tendido a concentrarse en efectos directos del cambio climático en la economía a corto plazo, aunque efectos potenciales a largo plazo pueden ser incluso más importantes. Un análisis profundo de los múltiples efectos del cambio climático pone de relieve la necesidad de tener en cuenta la interacción entre el cambio climático y varias tendencias implícitas del desarrollo económico para el buen diseño de estrategias de adaptación y de planes de desarrollo.The links between climate change, economic development, and poverty reduction have gained increasing attention over recent years. However, most of the existing literature tends to focus on direct, short-run effects of climate change on the economy, although potential effects of climate change on the prospects for long-run economic development may be more important. A deep analysis of the multiple effects of climate change highlights the need to take into account the interaction of climate change with other development trends for the design of sound adaptation strategies and development plans

Climate change impacts the economic development of low-income countries

Their livelihoods depend strongly on the weather, and relatively weak institutions limit their ability to cope, write David Castells-Quintana, Maria Lopez-Uribe and Tom McDermot

Measuring the Rol of Digital Engineering: It\u27s a Journey, Not a Number

Systems engineering as a discipline has long had difficulty providing quantifiable evidence of its value (Honour 2004); DE transformation provides an opportunity to better measure its value. Transitioning from a document-based to a model-based approach is expensive, and organizations want to know if the effort and cost to adopt MBSE is worth it

Prevalence of Overweight and Obesity in Hispanic Preschool Children in San Luis Obispo County, California

The purpose of the study was to determine the prevalence of overweight and obese (OW/OB) preschool children in San Luis Obispo County. Preschool children ages 3-5 years were measured for height and weight in 2006 (n = 482) and in 2009/10 combined (n = 559). The CDC BMI calculator for ages 2-20 was used to determine BMI classification. In 2006, 26.4% were OW/OB and by 2009/10, 34.8% were OW/OB. Rates were similar among boys and girls (p = 0.70) and increased significantly over time (p = 0.0070). Caucasian and Hispanic children had similar OW/OB rates in 2006, but by 2009/10 the Hispanic children were 2.7 times more likely to be obese (CI: 1.68, 4.57). Because Hispanic children were more likely to attend Head Start or California State preschools versus private preschools (78.0%, 81.0% and 7.4% respectively), it appears Head Start and California State preschools would be a likely place for interventions directed to meet the needs of Hispanic preschoolers, and may serve to reverse the trend in childhood obesity and address the disparity in weight status among Hispanic preschool aged children

Climate change and the geographical and institutional drivers of economic development

This work was carried out under the Collaborative Adaptation Research Initiative in Africa and Asia (CARIAA), with financial support from the UK Government’s Department for International Development (DfID) and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), Canada.Our review suggests that there are a potentially important set of dynamic interactions and feedback loops between institutions, climate (impacts and vulnerability) and development, which to date have been understudied. Understanding both the direct as well as the indirect effects of climate change is not only fundamental for the design of mitigation and adaptation strategies; whether by addressing the direct impacts of geographical factors, or by addressing their indirect effects on the socio-political environment, mitigation and adaptation strategies are also fundamental as key elements of broader development strategies. Moreover, as climate shocks disproportionally affect the poor, addressing climate-related risks is also a sound strategy in terms of addressing inequality and poverty reduction